Cheese - West
MD_DA840

     Cheese - Western U.S.

     Report 3 - Released on January 20, 2021

     Copious amounts of milk are resulting in the production of plenty of cheese. Western
     cheesemakers are actively producing cheese, but an unsettled feeling persists within the
     market. This uncertainty has seemed to play out in some cash markets. The announcement of
     more government food box program purchases created an initial push upwards on cheese prices,
     but now, the momentum has seemed to wane. Forecasting market direction has been difficult
     and neither buyers, nor sellers, want to overextend themselves. Cheese inventories are
     abundant and able to meet most needs. However, industry contacts confirm that food service
     and institutional demand has remained weak. Retail demand, while better than last year, is
     not able to offset the reduction in cheese sales into other channels. Until sit-down dining
     returns, contacts expect the cheese market may be challenging.


     WESTERN WHOLESALE PRICE ADJUSTMENTS
     In the West, wholesale prices are up $.0100 for process, and up $.1325 for cheddar block,
     cuts and Monterey Jack. Swiss cut wholesale prices are unchanged from the previous week.


     WHOLESALE SELLING PRICES: DELIVERED
     DOLLARS PER POUND(MIXED LOTS (1000-5000 POUNDS))

     Cheddar 10 pound Cuts               2.2400-2.4400
     Cheddar 40 pound Block              1.9925-2.4825
     Monterey Jack 10 pounds             2.2275-2.5025
     Process American 5 pound Loaf       1.7075-1.9625
     Swiss 6-9 pound Cuts                3.6800-4.1100


     Information for the period January 18 - 22, 2021, issued weekly

     Secondary Sourced Information:

     CME CLOSE
     In CME Group trading Wednesday, barrels closed at $1.4400, compared to the weekly average
     price of $1.6060 from last week. Blocks closed at $1.7300, compared to the weekly average
     price of $1.9120 from last week.


     EXPORT ASSISTANCE
     This week, a cooperative export assistance program accepted requests for export assistance
     on contracts to sell 608,476 pounds (276 metric tons) of cheese. So far this year, the
     program has assisted member cooperatives who have contracts to sell 1.471 million pounds of
     American-type cheeses in export markets. When combined with butter, cream cheese and whole
     milk powder, the program has assisted members with sales of 84.3 million pounds of milk on a
     milkfat basis.

     Published by:
     Dairy Market News - Madison, WI
     MIKE BANDLI, (608)422-8592
     Email: [email protected]

     Additional Dairy Market News Information:
     Dairy Market News (DMN) by Phone: (608)422-8602
     DMN Website: https://www.ams.usda.gov/market-news/dairy
     DMN MARS (My Market News): https://mymarketnews.ams.usda.gov